I’ve scanned one of the more complex of my hand drawn game levels, created in several stages to test out a 2D side scrolling platform game engine I have been working on (whilst running the UK-based Drupal web design company Curve).

First of all I came up with a really rough concept level design on a scrap of paper (no-one can over estimate the value of scraps of paper!).  Some tweaks were needed, but this concept contains the basic ideas for puzzle mechanics within the level design.

After I was satisfied with the level design, I planned it out a little more accurately on an A4 piece of squared paper. Graph paper has too many squares. In fact it is worth getting hold of squared paper that is as feint as possible, so that there is more contrast with your drawn design. This step helps to ensure that the player character can make certain jumps up to platforms, and across gaps.  You don’t want to player to find it either impossible or nearly impossible to access certain areas, unless that is intentionally part of the level design.

The draft level was adjusted in places on squared paper, then tested in the game engine, playing with the character to ensure that the various areas were the right height and widths etc.  This squared paper version was then photocopied for use as a template when drawing the final level.

The final level was drawn using tracing paper, masked to a photocopy of the squared level drawing, so that there was an accurate guide for where the platforms, walls and ceilings should be placed.

The drawing was done starting at the top-right of the image, across and downwards, to minimise smudging.  The rough details were placed with 2B pencil, and then filled in with extra detail over the course of the drawing.

I have got a playable demo of thifor and I’ll pop it on here shortly. In the meantime, here is a short video of a different level from another post.

This is because we all spend a lot of time looking at other people’s faces. We are familiar with the array of shapes and proportions, but is seems to be difficult to put them accurately onto paper without preconceptions.

Follow my portrait tutorial

With no prior knowledge of more technical 3D Software like Maya, XSI or 3DSMAX, you can be up and running creating and texturing 3D sculptures within hours.

All you need is a free (trial) copy of Zbrush, which you can download here. It is also extremely beneficial to use a Wacom Pad or some kind of pressure-sensitive digital tablet, as you will find out by following the Zbrush tutorials on this site.

These concise and precise academic drawing lessons are designed to be followed by anyone, from beginners to advanced professional artists.

I produce quite a varied range of artwork, some of which you can see in the Art Portfolio Gallery »

My art studies within the UK and in Florence, Italy have been combined together to enable you to learn and practice many varied techniques and tips.

I hope that you can then use these academic skills in creative, artistic ways, which you will adapt and develop into your unique personal style.

This example above, is a quick sketch drawn within a short-poses session. These short poses are the most common you will encounter in life-drawing classes. Most likely the model will stay still for between 5 minutes and 20 minutes, then proceed to either change to a different pose or have a short break.

The figure drawing below is an example of the more refined academic drawing studies. I rendered this drawing using some of the methods previously taught in 19th century ateliers, and now in a growing number of modern drawing and painting academies.

These free, practical drawing tutorials are created for you to learn the methods of the masters.

Basic Drawing Skills – How to sharpen your pencils »

Daily drawing to improve observational skills with Shape Exercises »

Photo realistic portrait drawing tutorial »

Life drawing study – Measured drawing from observation »

Life drawing study – Articulating the outlines and shadows »

Loose figure sketching – Five minute poses »

Loose figure sketching – Ten minute short poses »

Sketching tips for 20 minute poses »

More drawing tutorials are on their way for both beginners and experienced artists.

Here you can browse through my Art Portfolio Gallery

2B and HB graphite pencils are my main two grades of pencil. Some people also prefer to use a 2H, although I would not initially recommend using hard pencils like the 2H because they are more prone to irreversibly damaging the paper through indentation.

By using a mechanical pencil and changeable, replaceable leads, you gain a number of advantages:

They are quicker to sharpen to a finer point; They are more portable (lots of leads and different grades can be carried easily); The leads cost less than wooden pencils; There is no need for a blade (Xacto knife or craft knife) to shave off the wood and there is less waste produced from sharpening. Although there are all these benefits, some people still prefer to use normal wooden pencils, as they feel that the weighting is different and they are more natural.

To sharpen the lead a two-grade sandpaper pad (made by Faber Castell) is used. A grey (not white) putty rubber is good for erasing, as it is less destructive to the paper.

When creating a fully toned drawing, it is sensible to use good quality, durable drawing paper that can handle lots of rubbing-out (erasing). This is so that if a decent drawing is produced after many hours of work, it is on good paper.

I personally use Canson “mi-teintes” paper – it comes in lots of colours (I tend to use Ivory and Canary), and is excellent quality for graphite drawing. This paper is also used for the Charles Bargue drawing course studies. The sheet of paper is masking-taped to a large drawing board mounted on an easel which is positioned at a very slight angle, like the canvases shown on the easels in the picture below.

A plumb-line (a small weight approximately 200g tied to a thin but sturdy cord) is used to first find vertical alignments. Also a thin metal knitting needle is required for to take measurements and check vertical and horizontal alignments especially throughout the gesture and construction stages.

The Plumb-line

To draw a figure from life it is far easier to break down the procedures involved into various stages. To start with, a measured gesture of the pose is accurately portrayed. It is handy to have a straight-edged, simple background object that will not only assist with contrast against the subtleties of a nude figure in the finished drawing, but also will act as a useful aid with proportional relationship measurements.

With standing poses and most seated poses, the plumb-line is held at arms length by the cord about 18 inches long. This is slowly moved across the observation of the figure, searching for series of vertical alignments. A vertical alignment may be: the left side of the neck aligned with the outer right elbow aligned with the back of the right heel – if they all line up vertically using the plumb-line.

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» First of all leave Edit mode by pressing the T key or pressing Edit on the main interface.

You need to be out of Edit mode to be able to clear the layer.

» Clear the canvas (layer) by pressing the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+N.

>> Go to the Tool> docked panel and choose the Polymesh3D tool.

>> Drag/Draw the tool onto the canvas once. Immediately press the T key or Edit button to enter Edit mode.

You need to be working in Edit mode to have the ability to rotate, zoom and pan your 3D mesh.

Next Page

>> Open Zbrush 2. It is advisable to close other applications to get the best performance out of Zbrush.

Zbrush has a unique and very flexible interface.

>> Hover the cursor over the Standard button on the main interface, to the top-right edge of the Zbrush window. A small tool-tip appears.

>> Whilst the tool-tip is open, hold down the Ctrl key to get a more in-depth description of the Standard function.

>> Whilst holding down the Ctrl key, also try holding down Alt to get a more in-depth description of the Standard function.

Every function in the Zbrush interface and menus/panels has a tool-tip which also may include its’ keyboard shortcut in brackets.

Every function also has a more detailed tool-tip accessed by holding down the Ctrl key as described. This is extremely useful whether you are beginning to learn or at an advanced level.

Try and read every detailed tool-tip for the functions you use, as you use them. You will find that this will rapidly increase the learning process.

Next Page

First of all you will need to advertise for could-be artists to submit their portfolios.

Next, with each portfolio you receive, you will need to go through this list in deciding whether to take on works from the artist.

If you can think of any other checklist items, please add them in the comments at the end of this post.

Of course, some combinations are better than others, but if the answer is ‘YES’ to two or more of the above questions, then there’s no doubt about it: Take the so-called artist on, without hesitation, before another modern art gallery snaps them up!

Remember, we are now unfortunately in times where people buy modern art not for the art itself, but for the prestige of buying it, and the surrounding conversation.

Today we have so much more equipment available to help us learn and develop as artists. I say use it!

Especially make use your camera – don’t be scared, don’t feel like you’re cheating!

When studying how to draw the human figure, and especially portraits, a camera is almost essential unless you have a very, very cheap model with lots of patience.

The main reason being the cost associated with employing models to sit for hours on end whilst you practice your techniques and gradually develop your understanding of light, shadow, anatomy, expression, texture…

However, it is of prime importance that you also study from life itself.

Otherwise you are likely to miss that which captures life’s essence in a particular work of art. For example, the feeling of emotion, or a glimpse of something mysterious, or the technical fact that real-life will present your eyes with a larger dynamic range of value (colours that range from light to dark) than photographs are currently capable of representing.

Not to say that you should neglect study of drawings and paintings by Old Masters, and casts or original statues, for one, this will assist you in solving some of the problems you come across when attempting to represent or convey certain things.

Photography is simply another way that can be used to assist in the study of expression, light and shade, anatomy and focus.

There are some great black and white photos of arts movers and shakers from the sixties on the BBC website which could be a good place to start. Or even better, why not take your own photos of friends and family, and use these as practise images to copy drawings from (they also make great presents!).

In a couple of days time I’ll be adding a detailed drawing tutorial which takes you explicitly through the steps of copying a photo using photorealistic drawing techniques.

Until then, try experimenting with your own techniques or at least try on of the other drawing tutorials »

More of the fantastic tutorials feedback :

” Fabulous tutorials – very well written! Thank you for sharing your talents! “

” Great step-by-step, I thought it was put together well and concise. I still feel wobbly at the knees but my confidence is growing. I will definitely keep this pdf handy for my next project. “

” Excellent tutorials, very well presented and put together, thanks. “

Line rhythm or music depends on the shape of your lines, their relation to each other and their relation to the boundaries of your panel.

In all good work this music of line is in harmony with the subject (the artistic intention) of your picture or drawing.

The two lines with the least variation are a perfectly straight line and a circle.

A perfectly straight line has obviously no variety at all, while a circle, by curving at exactly the same ratio all along, has no variation of curvature, it is of all curves the one with the least variety.

These two lines are frankly boring to look at, and are seldom used in pictures except to enhance the beauty and variation of other lines. Even then, subtle variations and some amount of play is introduced to relieve their dreary nature.

However, used in this way, vertical and horizontal lines are of the utmost value in rectangular pictures, uniting the composition to its bounding lines by their parallel relationship with them.

Further, these stark, hard edges serve as a contrast to the richness and beauty of curves. Vertical and horizontal straight lines are of great value, and are constantly used for this purpose.

Other Jailbreak fixing methods I tried didn’t work, but these steps did, and they’re easy to do.

When trying other methods, my iPod crashed or wouldn’t switch on, but I found that these five short steps always got my iPod Touch up and running again with the official Apple firmware using iTunes.

I have used these steps several times and always had success restoring my iPod back to normal, including times when it appeared unresponsive to everything and I couldn’t turn it on.

———-
1) Open iTunes
2) Connect iPod Touch to computer with USB (nothing happens… argh!)
3) Hold down Sleep button (at the top of the iPod Touch) and Home button (The one with a square on the front) together.
4) When the iPod disconnects from itunes, let go of sleep button (keep holding home button)
5) When the iPod is re-detected in itunes, let go of home button
———-

When these steps have been successful, you can choose to select Restore.
Recovering my iPod this way with iTunes always worked for me.

If restoring it won’t work, unplug your iPod from the USB lead, restart your PC, and follow the above steps again.